The Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR) released a report this week that found unions generally have a positive impact on the salaries and benefits of women workers. The study, Unions and Upward Mobility for Women Workers (see PDF), found that all other factors controlled, women who joined a union were more likely to have health insurance through their employer, a pension plan, and higher earnings than their non-unionized equivalents. The study also established that unionization benefits lower earning female workers just as significantly as those with higher paying jobs.

John Schmitt, who authored the study and is a Senior Economist at CEPR said in a press release that "for women, joining a union makes as much sense as going to college…All else equal, joining a union raises a woman's wage as much as a full year of college, and a union raises the chances a woman has health insurance by more than earning a four-year college degree."